Reel

ABSTRACT

A reel half having an outer flange and an inner hub including a plurality of sets of flange spacing portions of different heights or elevations, the reel half being reversible to form either half of a reel and two reel halves being capable of assembly with differing heights of said flange spacing portions in contact so as to provide reels of different widths.

ilnited States Patent Selleck et al. [4 1 June 27, 1972 1 REEL 3,017,133 1/1962 Bowler ..242/71.9 [72] Inventors: Robert smack, San Jose; Philip H. Al 3,339,861 9/1967 Montes1 ..242/11s.7

saws bmh Cahf- FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [731 Assignw Equil'mem CMPW, Cams 957,253 5/1964 Great Britain ..242/11s.7-

[22] Filed: Dec. 15, 1969 Primary Examiner-George F. Mautz [211 App]. No.: 885,142

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,190,013 2/1940 Byers ..242/ll8.4

Assistant Examiner-Milton Gerstein Attorney-Allen & Chromy 57 ABSTRACT A reel half having an outer flange and an inner hub including a plurality of sets of flange spacing portions of different heights or elevations, the reel half being reversible to form either half of a reel and two reel halves being capable of assembly with differing heights of said flange spacing portions in contact so as to provide reels of difierent widths.

3 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATEi-ETEDJUHZT 1:22 3,672,594

sumznrz FlG.6

INVENTORS. ROBERT W. SELLECK PHILIP H.ALLEN ATTO EYS REEL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to reels and reel halves and is concerned more particularly with the provision of identical reel halves which can be assembled into reels of difierent widths for handling strip material, for example, the bimetallic strips of material commonly employed in thermostatic elements.

It is an object of the-invention to provide an improved reel half capable of assembly as pairs to form reels of different widths.

Another object of the invention is to provide a reel half in which the reel hub has flange spacing portions of varying heights in regular patterns so as to be capable of assembly with a similar reel half to provide reels of varying widths.

The above and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the inventors, as illustrated in the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the inner face of a reel half;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken in a plane indicated by the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3, 4 and are respective fragmentary sectional views taken as indicated by the lines 3-3, 4-4, 55 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of two reel halves as illustrated in FIG. 1 which have been assembled as a completed reel;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary radial sectional view through a reel of the type shown in FIG. 6, in which the flange spacing portions of highestelevation have been joined together to form the widest reel;

FIG. 8 is a view to FIG. 7, in which the reel halves are assembled with the highest flange spacing portion of one of the reels in engagement with a flange spacing portion of intermediate height of the other of the reels; and

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 7 in which the highest flange spacing portions of one reel are mated with the lowest flange spacing portions of the opposite reel to form the narrowest reel of the group.

Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown a reel half 10 including an outer flange 11 and an inner hub 12. The hub 12 is raised with respect to the flange'to provide an annular shoulder or core structure 13 as the inner diameter of the hub upon which the material is to be wound. The hub 12 includes a series of sets of flange spacing portions 14, 15 and 16 of varying elevations with respect to the outer flanges 11, for example, there being six sets in number. Referring to FIG. 2 there is illustrated one possible arrangement of the flange spacing portions of a set and the elevations or heights to secure the selected three different widths of the reels. The lowest flange spacing portion is represented as a dimension of 0.000 inch or 0, the next highest flange spacing portion being shown as 0.030 inch at the other end of the set, and the highest flange spacing portion 0.060 inch being centrally located in the set. This same arrangement is provided at each of the other sets as previously explained, the entire arrangement providing an annular or circular array with theflange spacing portions spaced apart to complete the 360 circle.

Radially inwardly of these sets of flange spacing portions 14, 15 and 16 there is an annular planar portion 17 terminating about a circular rib 18 defining an inner mounting aperture for the reel half. Radially outward of the flange spacing portions the hub portion 12 has an outer planar portion 19 terminating at the shoulder or core structure 13. The reel half also has a plurality of spaced apertures 21 providing access to the shoulder 13 and apertures 22 and 23 which are assembly apertures to be used in assembling the reel halves in their various positions for a completed reel assembly.

Referring for example to FIG. 6, the two reel halves are assembled to form a completed reel, and portions of the hub for example, have been solvent welded or sonic welded to each other to secure them together to form a completed reel. With non-heat scalable materials, or plastics, a suitable adhesive glue can be employed obtaining the same result.

Referring to FIG. 7, there is a fragmentary section shown through a reel where two of the highest elevation flange spacing portions 16 have been engaged and secured to each other at each of the six spaced points where they would engage in order to determine the maximum width of reel to be made.

Similarly, in FIG. 8, the highest flange spacing portions 16 of one reel are illustrated in surface to surface abutting relation with the intermediate height flange spacing portions of another reel to form the intermediate width reel. In FIG. 9, the outer surface of the highest flange spacing portions of one reel half have been engaged with the outer surface of the lowest flange spacing portions or recesses of another reel half to form the narrowest reel.

Also, wider reels may be assembled by providing components to engage the respective desired flange spacing portions of a reel to obtain reels of any desired width.

In assembling the reel, certain apertures in the reel halves are employed including the apertures 21, 22 and 23 referred to above. It will be seen that there are four apertures 21 in each reel half and these apertures are not evenly spaced apart. It will be seen that the distance between midpoints of the apertures 21 with the notations 21a and 21b extend through five of the flange spacing portions (which are spaced 20 apart), and between the apertures 21a and the next adjacent aperture 21 clockwise there are also five of these flange spacing portions. The other two spaces between the apertures 21 each extend for six of these flange spacing portions. It will be seen that a line 26 (FIG. 1) bisecting aperture 21a and the opposite aperture 21 provides a diametral line of symmetry, and that if one reel half is inverted about this line of symmetry all apertures 21 will coincide with the apertures 21 of the other reel half. It will also be seen that if, from the above position, that when one of the reel halves is inverted in either direction from the axes of symmetry that two sets of apertures 21 will coincide. This uneven spacing is made to always insure one set of apertures 21 in complete alignment when one reel half is flipped over and assembled against another reel half by use of the apertures 21, 22 and 23 as later described. It is to be noted that the two reel halves can be rotated with respect to each other with one in inverted position, say for 40 or 60", and none of the apertures 21 in the respective reel half will be aligned. This positioning of the reel halves in assembly is made only when access to the end of the strip or filament being wound is unnecessary. In general, one reel half is placed in fixed position by engaging the aperture 23 with a pin of corresponding diameter and by locating the center opening 18 over a corresponding center post. The other reel half then is located by pins placed through both reel halves but adapted to locate the other reel half by a pair of pins engaging in the aper tures 21 of this other reel half. It will be noted that the flange spacing portions are located at 20 intervals and correspondingly with the reel half rotated through 20 from one position to another, the outer surface of the highest flange spacing portion 16 (0.060 inches, FIG. 2) can be engaged selectively in surface-to-surface engagement with the corresponding highest flange spacing portion on the opposite reel half to make the widest reel, with the next highest flange spacing portion 15 (0.030 inches, FIG. 2) to make a reel of intermediate width, and in surface-to-surface engagement with the lowest or depressed flange spacing portion 14 (0.000 inches, FIG. 2) for fastening the narrowest reel and this relation can be accomplished in six different angular positions. In all of these angular positions at least one pair of apertures 21 are aligned with each other to provide access to the reel in order to fasten an end of tape to the aligned annular surfaces 13. In some positions two of the apertures 21 will be aligned and in one position four of the apertures will be aligned. A selected position of the upper reel half is obtained by engaging two adjacent apertures with large pins placed in an assembly fixture, with the pins engaging the adjacent comer walls 21a (FIG. 1) and 21b. It will be seen that the reel halves will be positively located so that after the surfaces of the flange spacing portion are coated with a suitable solvent or with a suitable glue they can be secured together in the selected relatively fixed location. In the case of ABS plastic, the solvent can be methyl ethyl ketone or similar solvent. In the case of glue, Eastman 910 glue may be used.

While we have shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is apparent the invention is capable of 5 variation and modification from the forms shown so that the scope thereof should be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

We claim:

1. A reel half comprising an inner hub and an outer annular flange, said hub including a circular array of flange spacing portions arranged in similar sets with a plurality of flange spacing portions of varying heights in each set, one flange spacing portion in each set providing means for selective surface-tosurface engagement with each of the flange spacing portions in a set of another and identical reel half to provide for selective assembly of reels of different widths employing two identical reel halves only, said hub being raised relatively to its associated flange, and said reel half having means at the periphery of said hub and being radially beyond and spaced from said annular array of flange spacing portions and providing, in the assembly of two reel halves, a core structure for the winding thereon of strip material between the flanges of the two assembled reel halves.

2. A reel consisting of two identical halves, each reel half ineluding an inner hub and an outer flange, said hub include an annular array of flange spacing portions arranged in similar sets with a plurality of the flange spacing portions in each set, the flange spacing portions in each set having different elevations with respect to said flange, and in the assembled reel one similar flange spacing portion of each set of one reel half being in surface-to-surface contacting relation with a selected flange spacing portion of each set of the other reel half, thereby determining the width of the reel, said hubs being raised relatively to their respectively associated flanges, and said reel halves having means at the peripheries of said hubs and being radially beyond and spaced from said annular array of flange spacing portions and providing, in the assembly of two reel halves, a core structure for the winding thereon of strip material between the flanges of the two assembled reel halves, and means for securing the contacting flange spacing portions of each of said reel halves to each other.

3. A reel half as recited in claim 2, in which said flange is provided with four apertures symmetrically spaced with respect to a diametral line of symmetry but unevenly spaced insofar as the number of degrees between apertures, one aperture having two of the other apertures spaced to either side thereof. 

1. A reel half comprising an inner hub and an outer annular flange, said hub including a circular array of flange spacing portions arranged in similar sets with a plurality of flange spacing portions of varying heights in each set, one flange spacing portion in each set providing means for selective surface-to-surface engagement with each of the flange spacing portions in a set of another and identical reel half to provide for selective assembly of reels of different widths employing two identical reel halves only, said hub being raised relatively to its associated flange, and said reel half having means at the periphery of said hub and being radially beyond and spaced from said annular array of flange spacing portions and providing, in the assembly of two reel halves, a core structure for the winding thereon of strip material between the flanges of the two assembled reel halves.
 2. A reel consisting of two identical halves, each reel half including an inner hub and an outer flange, said hub include an annular array of flange spacing portions arranged in similar sets with a plurality of the flange spacing portions in each set, the flange spacing portions in each set having different elevations with respect to said flange, and in the assembled reel one similar flange spacing portion of each set of one reel half being in surface-to-surface contacting relation with a selected flange spacing portion of each set of the other reel half, thereby determining the width of the reel, said hubs being raised relatively to their respectively associated flanges, and said reel halves having means at the peripheries of said hubs and being radially beyond and spaced from said annular array of flange spacing portions and providing, in the assembly of two reel halves, a core structure for the winding thereon of strip material between the flanges of the two assembled rEel halves, and means for securing the contacting flange spacing portions of each of said reel halves to each other.
 3. A reel half as recited in claim 2, in which said flange is provided with four apertures symmetrically spaced with respect to a diametral line of symmetry but unevenly spaced insofar as the number of degrees between apertures, one aperture having two of the other apertures spaced 80* to either side thereof. 